Danny Cipriani accuses Owen Farrell of running England team "like a mafia"
Danny Cipriani has accused England captain Owen Farrell of running the team "like the mafia" during his time in the international set-up.
The former Wasps and Sale fly-half burst onto the scene in the mid-2000s but has only picked up 16 England caps during his career. He found himself pushing the likes of Farrell and George Ford in the lead-up to the 2015 World Cup, only to eventually miss out on the final squad.
By that point Farrell, who made his debut in 2012, had become an integral member of the England squad and, in his role as a fly-half, was among the leading voices. He was part of a cluster of players who assisted the coaches, but Cipriani has likened them to the mafia and claims an interaction with Sam Burgess suggests he wasn't overly liked.
He wrote in his book, which was quoted in The Sun: "A clique of players helps run the team: Owen Farrell, George Ford, Chris Robshaw, Dan Cole, Ben Youngs, a couple of others. They’re called 'the leadership group', but more like the mafia, always appearing to be scheming. Still, I get on fine with most of them. At least I think I do.
"Sam’s in a WhatsApp group with the mafia, until one day, he posts a picture on Instagram of me and him in a coffee shop. A few hours later, George screenshots the picture and messages it to Sam, before removing him from the group. Sam couldn’t care less but I’m not sure what I’ve done to offend them. Clearly I’m not as welcome as I thought I was."
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Burgess switched codes shortly before the World Cup, leaving a successful rugby league outfit in Australia to sign for Bath. He arrived with high hopes and a big personality but both he and Cipriani were not convinced by the methods being employed.
Danny Cipriani and Owen Farrell have been in several England camps together"I’ve hit it off with Sam Burgess, who’s been brought over from rugby league," added Cipriani. "Like me, Sam realises things aren’t right. “It’s meetings about meetings,” he says. 'Why is everyone being treated like kids?' He’s bang on, it feels like we’re on a school trip rather than preparing for a World Cup."
England would end up flopping at the World Cup in which they were hosts, losing at Twickenham to Wales and then Australia, which meant they failed to even make it out of the pool stages with their attack particularly criticised. The failure ultimately cost then head coach Stuart Lancaster his job.
Farrell has since helped England make the final of the World Cup in 2019, losing to South Africa. He remains the country's captain but a red card in a warm-up game against Wales means he will miss the opening games in France this month.
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